RECENT BOOKS ORTEOEYDROGEN, PARAHYDROGEN AND HEAVYHYDROGEN.knowledge of Muslim chemistry and has made clear the most Adnlbert Farkas, Dr. Phil. nat. (Frankfurt), Dr.-Ing. (Vienna). important sources of the mediaeval Latin chemistry which was The Cambridge Series of Physical Chemistry. Cambridge: derived from it. at the University Press; New York: The Maanillan ComThe Book of Alums and Salts is an Arahic compilation based 215 pp. 47 figs. 13.5 X 21 cm. $3.50. on the writings of al-Raei and Jabir and upon Alexandrian sources. pany, 1935. xiv In 1926 very few people would have believed that the next six It underwent various changes and additions by the Muslim or eight years would produce enough new and radically diflerent chemists and existed in a number of versions before it came to the L a t i n s t o whom it supplied what was perhaps their most initheoretical and experimental information about hydrogen-supposedly the best understood of all elementsto fill a volume such portant source of chemistry. It was known to Gerard of Cremona as the one here reviewed. In fact, if the author had included all who translated it into Latin and supposed it to be the work of there was to be said of heavy hydrogen this hook would have been al-Rozi. Vincent of Beauvais ascribed it to al-Razi and quoted twice its present size. This work is a tribute to the rapid growth extensively from a Latin version of it. A number of anonymous manuscripts of the translation are also known. Ruska paints out of our physical sciences. The book is divided into two parts; Part I deals with ortho- that no Arabic original of the work exists among the known auand parahydrogen and Part I1 with heavy hydrogen. The suh- thentic works of al-Razi. He has made a careful study and comject matters of these two parts are not very closely related and parison of the Latin Paris Ms. 6514. which hears the name of each part is almost independent of the other. Part I begins with al-Razi, and the supplement, Dc Mineralibus Liber, of the Coma very brief chapter on the salient facts which led to the discovery fiendium Alchemia of John Garland which was printed at Basel in of ortho- and parahydrogen. This is followed by a chapter on 156(tTracfotus de Salium Aluminumpue uarietate, compositime the theory which led to the prediction that two forms of ordinary et usu Scriptoris incnti (Treatise of an unknown writer an the hydrogen existed and which allowed calculations to he made on Variety, Composition and Use of Salts and Alums). He seems the equilibrium between these two modifications. This theoreti- to have been the fist to note the resemblance of the latter to the Book of Alums and Salts. In part the two are identical, and in cal oortion deals with the relationshio between nuclear soin and ~rotational qu.mtum numher (quantum mechanic\) and aka drd9 part each contains material wbich is not contained in the other. with the statis~icaltrcntmcnt used in calculaling the equilibrium They differ in the Arabic words which have been retained in the involved. This section i, followed by an ol,srrvation of thc ther- Latin, in the additions which have evidently been made to modynamics, physical, and kinetic properties of these two modi- them, and in the characteristically Muslim and Christian referfications and a description of tbe experimental arrangement em- ences to God which have been retained or added as the case may ployed in the preparation and anslysis. There is also a brief dis- be. They appear to be derived from two differentearlier Arabic versions. Finally Ruska has discovered in the Berlin Ms., cussion of ortho and para systems of other molecules. Slightly less than half the book is devoted to heavy hydrogen Springer, 1904, an Arabic original wbich agrees in part and differs Somewhat the same orocedure in the oresentation of in part from the Latin versions. His book presents the evidence (Part 11). --, clearly and convincingly. It contains the original Arabic text r the snhjert is ndopted here as in.the ilrst pert ~ h thcrmudynamic trratmrnt is particularly emphasi7ed. This part is nut as and the two above-mentioned Latin versions together with a complctc as that on ortlro- nnd pnrahydrofien but omissions here German translation, which covers them all, with indications of are to he expected because of the continued rapid development the variants and identities. The Book of Alums and Salts is a sincere compilation of the of this subject and its already great content. In hoth sections, however, the important developments are all adequately pre- chemical knowledge of its time, without mystery and without sented and in addition there is much factual material that may be nonsense. It is hy no means limited to the materials indicated in its title but treats of the many substances which were used by used for reference (295 references are included). As with any well-founded scientific article this book is not open the Muslim chemists, arsenic sulfide, sulfur, mercury, the heavy to adverse criticism. The principal experimental facts and theo- metals, minerals, etc., vitriol, alkali, glass, and the imitation of ries are simply and adequately stated-there is no room for argu- precious stones. Its exposition, naturally, is based upon the ment. If one were forced to 6nd criticism it might he said that an very serviceable theory which prevailed a t the time, the sulfurunduly small proportion of the book is devoted to heavy hydro- mercury theory which is associated with the names of Zosimos and Jabir. The hwk makes one realize that there were meat gen. Two Nobel prizes attest to the importance of the material here chemists among the M~slims,and makes one suspect that there so well presented. The book is recommended to everyone de- were no truly -eat ones after them in Europe unril the time of sirine a more intimate knowledee af these latest develooments in Paracelsus. Our thanks again to Professor Ruska for his fundamental physical chemistry. However, the book is not recommended to contributions to the history of chemistry. anyone who does not have a solid foundation in this subject. T. R. HOGNESS
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DASB u m DER ALAmrr, SALZE. (The Book of Alums and Salts.) A Source of Late Latin Alchemy, Edited, Translated, and Annotated by Julius Ruska. Verlag Cbemie G.m.h.H., Coroeliusstrasse 3, Berlin W. 35, 1935. 127 pp. 16.5 X 25 em. Price bound, RM. 15. Professor Winderlieh's article (trans. Ralph E. Oesper) on "Al-Raai's Influence on Occidental Chemistty," projected for a future numher of THIS JOURNAL, will desuibe so well the general nature of the researches which Professor Ruska has been doing on al-Razi, and the place among them which is occupied by the Book of Alums and Salts, that it seems undesirable here to attemot to anticioate it. Ruska's work has ereatlv imnroved our
AND ORGANIC). QUALITATTVE CREMICAL ANALYSIS (INORGANIC F. Mollwo Pnkin, Late Head of the Chemistry Department. Borough Polytechnic Institute, London. Revised by. Ju1ius Grant. Fifth edition. Longmans, Green and Co., London and New York, 1935. x 377 pp. 13.5 X 21.5 em. $3.50. The first edition of this text appeared in 1901. Since that time the text has passed through several editions and printings. The present edition (13th) has been enlarged by including sections on microanalysis (hoth inorganic and organic), organic reagents and spot tests, and some of the less common elements; and by treating in more detail some of the rarer elements and alkaloids. The text is divided into two parts; the first considers inorganic substances, and the other, organic. The inorganic section is
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composed of ten chapters, the first two of which contain instructions pertaining to dry reactions, micro methods, and reactions in solution. The latter is accompanied by a very brief discussion of some of the theoretical considerations of the properties of solutions. This is too brief t o be of any value t o the student, hut he is referred t o other texts for more complete information. Six chapters of Part I are devoted to the chemistry of the metal ions; one chapter t o the chemistry of the acid ions; and the last chapter of this section, t o the systematic examination, separation, and detection of anions and cations. Part I1 contains eight chapters concerning the reactions of and tests for organic substances. I n the first of these chapters methods for the detection of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, the halogens, sulfur, and phosphorus in organic compounds areconsidered. There then follows in the remaining chapters of Part I1 a discussion of the reactions and methods for the separation of organic acids and phenols, the reactions of esters, hydrocarbons, higher fatty acids, glycerides, aldehydes, alcohols, acetone, carbohydrates, bases, glncosides, and alkaloids. The text is written from a practical viewpoint; it contains, for each substance, several tests which have been thoroughly checked by the author, and its value lies chiefly in the availability of tests for organic as well as inorganic substances. In these respects the text is an excellent reference for those engaged in analytical procedures. I t could be used in courses designed to impart the practical methods of analysis; however, t o he used in the average course of qualitative analysis it would be necessary t o support it with a theoretical treatment of the properties of solutions, ionization and ionic equilibria, and oxidation and reduction. WARRENC. JOHNSON Tam UmvBB51ru on C a r c ~ o o cnrc*oo, ILLINOIS
ORGANIC CKEMISTRY.Howard I.Lucas, Assxiate Professor of Organic Chemistry, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California. First edition. American Book Company, New York City, 1935. vi 686 pp. 92 tables. 42 figures. 14 X 21.5 cm. $3.60.
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This book is an interesting, modem text with a distinctive approach t o the subject. The author has attempted not only t o present the subject matter of organic chemistry in a systematic and logical manner, hut also to correlate the material with fundamental principles of theoretical chemistry. Especial emphasis has been placed on: (1) class reactions, (2) relationship t o inorganic compounds, (3) molecular structure, (4) energy relationships, (5) electrochemifal characteristics, and (6) application of electronic theories. After the customary introduction, the author takes up the question of valence, and points out the differences between ionogens and non-ionogens. Atomic structure, electronic distribution, and the electronic differences between the various types of bonds in ionic and non-ionic compounds are pointed out. The semipolar double bond and the hydrogen bond are described. The principle of minimum kernel repulsions is used in order to decide on the arrangements of the atoms in the molecule. Tables of kemel repulsions and bond energies are given and the concept of resonance is discussed. The third chapter deals with the properties of ionic, non-polar, and dipolar substances and a correlation of these properties with chemical constitution. The succeeding chapters deal with the various classes or homologous series of organic compounds. The outstanding characteristic of the book is the correlation of energy relationships with reactions. For example, substitution of paraffin hydrocarbons by the halogens is considered t o parallel the reaction of the halogens with hydrogen. The decrease in free energy in formation of the hydrogen halides is a measure of the driving force of the reaction, and hence fluorine bas the greatest tendency to react, whereas iodine has the least. The application of bond-energy values t o substitution also aids in explaining the differences observed in substitution by chlorine, bromine, and iodine. The thermochemistry of the hydrocarbons is discussed and used in consideration of the cracking process. The differ-
ences in reactivity of single, double, and triple bonds is also correl a 1 4 with the energy relationships. These comments arc sufficient to indicate the general tenor of the book. The use of thesc physico-chemical concepts and thcories is not overemphasized, but is woven into an excellent discussion of the preparation and reactions of each of the classes of compounds, and such discussion aids greatly in gaining a clearer concept of the properties of the compounds. The presentation is not dogmatic, but discursive. Numerous tables of organic compounds with their physical properties are given, and are a great aid in giving the student a working knowledge of the properties of the compounds. These ninety-two tables also add to the reference value of the book. Some of the important methods for identifying and characterizing each homologous series are given near the end of the discussion of each class of compounds. Schematic charts showing i m ~ o r t a n treactions and interconversion of orranit comoountls givr the ~tridentan excellmt review. Finally, at the end of rarh cllaptrr, a set of questions and problems is given. These ore e r crllcnt. and do much to Eet the studcnt to think and reason rather than memorize. The book is written in a smooth, logical style and represents an enormous amount of work. It is, quite evidently, the publication of material which the author has been using in teaching his own students for some time. Very few errors were noted, and these are not serious. The reaction between n-propyl magnesium bromide and carbon dioxide on page 169; the formula for chloral, page 256; and the statement on page 143, that ally1 alcohol gives iodoform, are incorrect. The equations showing the formation of qniuoline hy the Skraup reaction (page 615) do not represent the actual sequence of reactions involved. The production of n-propyl and isohutyl alcohols by the carbon monoxidehydrogen reaction should be included. Vitamins A and C are discussed, but not Bt, B2.or D. I n view of the importance of polymerization reactions, i t would perhaps be desirable t o expand the treatment for this process a t appropriate points in the teat. These comments are, however, minor, and the author has written a distinctly up-to-date, comprehensive text. It is evident from the above comments that this textbook can be used with success only with students who have completed a year of physical chemistry .(which emphasized thermodynamics and electronic structures) before beginning the study of organic chemistry. I t should find use in schools and colleges where the teaching of physical chemistry precedes the teaching of organic chemistry. The book is an excellent one for graduate students. Its publication constitutes an interesting experiment in the presentation of organic chemistry, and the extent t o which it will be used will be watched with great interest. ~~~~~
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SUGGESTI~NS TO AUTHORS OF PAPERSSUBMITTED FOR PUBLIUTION BY THE UNITED STATES GROLOGICAL SURVEY, WITH DIRECTIONS TO TYPISTS. George M c k n e Wood. Revised and enlarged b'y Bernard H. Lane. Fourth edition. United States Government Printing Office,Washington, D. C., 1935. vii 126 pp. 14.5 X 23 em. Paper hound. For sale by the Snperintendent of Documents, $0.15.
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Although this pamphlet has been prepared specifically for Geological Survey authors, it is easy to see why authors outside the survey have found its suggestions invaluable and why seven reprintings of the preceding edition were necessary. The first forty-eight pages deal chiefly with geological subject matter or with style practices that vary slightly among first-rate periodicals. Even this portion of the pamphlet, however, may be read (or a t least skimmed) with profit by writers on other than geological subjects. The section entitled "Suggestions as to expression" and the "Summary of the features of a good manuscript" (pp. 49-103) are heartily recommended t o all writers of scientific or factual suhject matter. The author and reviser have not hesitated t o
